Goods to operator workstation

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a goods to operator workstation for presenting a container of articles to an operator for picking. The goods to operator workstation includes a container presenting mechanism having laterally movable arms positioned at a first predetermined distance from each other to create a first space to receive and present the container to the operator for picking. A lifting unit moves vertically upwards into the first space to receive the picked container, the laterally movable arms move outwardly away from each other to be positioned at a second predetermined distance from each other, and the lifting unit moves vertically downwards through the at least two laterally movable arms to transfer the picked container onto the discharge conveyor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/053,280 filed on Aug. 2, 2018, each of which is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

Example embodiments of the present invention relate generally to amaterial handling system, and more particularly, to a workstation fordelivering goods to an operator for handling.

BACKGROUND

Picking or workstations are essential components of high volumedistribution and fulfillment operations. Conventionally, order pickingrequires an order picker to take an order list, walk through racks ofproducts filled with containers of products to pick from, picking thelisted products from product containers, and placing the picked productsinto an order container for delivery to packaging. However, thissolution is slow and requires intensive manpower. Thus, automatedpicking or workstations are used in more recent systems.

Applicant has identified several technical challenges associated withorder picking and other associated systems and methods. Through appliedeffort, ingenuity, and innovation, many of these identified challengeshave been overcome by developing solutions that are included inembodiments of the present invention, many examples of which aredescribed in detail herein.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the disclosed goods to operatorworkstation. This summary is not an extensive overview and is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements nor delineate the scope ofsuch elements. Its purpose is to present some concepts of the describedfeatures in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is presented later.

The illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systemsand methods for handling goods in a material handling environment.According to at least one aspect of the present disclosure, a goods tooperator workstation for presenting a container of articles to anoperator for picking is provided. The goods to operator workstation mayreceive the container from an infeed conveyor and may release pickedcontainer onto a discharge conveyor of a material handling system. Thegoods to operator workstation may include a container presentingmechanism for receiving and presenting the container to the operator.The container presenting mechanism may include at least two laterallymovable arms positioned at a first predetermined distance from eachother to create a first space to receive the container. The goods tooperator workstation may further include a lifting unit, communicablycoupled to and positioned below the container presenting mechanism. Inaccordance with the disclosed embodiment, the lifting unit may movevertically upwards into the first space to receive the container fromthe at least two laterally movable arms. In response, the at least twolaterally movable arms may move outwardly away from each other to bepositioned at a second predetermined distance from each other to createa second space for the lifting unit to pass the container verticallydownwards between the laterally movable arms.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, each ofthe at least two laterally movable arms may include a strip belt forconveying the container towards the operator.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, thecontainer presenting mechanism may further include a strip belt drivecoupled to a drive shaft attached to the at least two laterally movablearms, such that the strip belt drive rotates the drive shaft and drivesthe strip belts forward.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, thegoods to operator workstation may further include an infeed conveyorportion, positioned between the infeed conveyor and the containerpresenting mechanism, for receiving the container from the infeedconveyor, and a discharge conveyor portion, positioned between thelifting unit and the discharge conveyor, for releasing the pickedcontainer onto the discharge conveyor.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, thecontainer presenting mechanism may be inclined at an angle with respectto the infeed conveyor portion of the goods to operator workstation.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, thecontainer presenting mechanism may include a translational mechanismcoupled to the at least two laterally movable arms for moving the atleast two laterally movable arms towards and away from each other.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, thetranslational mechanism may be a lead screw drive having a lead screwdisposed between the at least two laterally movable arms, and a motorcoupled to the lead screw for rotating the lead screw in a firstdirection to move the at least two laterally movable arms away from eachother and rotating the lead screw in a second direction to move the atleast two laterally movable arms towards each other.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, thefirst predetermined distance and the second predetermined distance maybe determined based on a contour of the container supported on the atleast two laterally movable arms.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the atleast two laterally movable arms are actuated to move inwardly towardseach other from the second predetermined distance to the firstpredetermined distance to receive a next container from the infeedconveyor portion.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, theinfeed conveyor portion and/or the discharge conveyor portion mayinclude a belted conveyor, a roller conveyor, and/or a combinationthereof.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, thefirst space created by the positioning of the at least two laterallymovable arms at the first predetermined distance may be greater than orequal to a width of the lifting unit to facilitate the lifting unit tolift the container from the at least two laterally movable arms to anelevated position.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, thesecond space may provide clearance to lower the lifting unit and thecontainer from the elevated position towards the discharge conveyor.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, thelifting unit may include one or more lift arms for receiving thecontainer from the container presenting mechanism, and a verticallyreciprocating lift mechanism, coupled to the one or more lift arms, formoving the one or more lift arms vertically upwards and downwards.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, thelifting unit may include at least two lift arms disposed on either sideof a discharge conveyor portion of the goods to operator workstation,wherein the at least two lift arms may move downwards to transfer thecontainer to the discharge conveyor portion. Further, the at least twolift arms may be inclined at an angle with respect to the dischargeconveyor portion.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, thegoods to operator workstation may further include at least one hard stopto control an advancement of the container on the at least two laterallymovable arms. The hard stop may be provided at one end of the containerpresenting mechanism where the operator intends to perform the pickupoperation.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method ofoperating a goods to operator workstation for presenting a container ofarticles to an operator for picking, is provided. The goods to operatorworkstation may receive the container from an infeed conveyor and mayrelease picked container onto a discharge conveyor. The method mayinclude receiving the container by a container presenting mechanismhaving at least two laterally movable arms positioned at a firstpredetermined distance from each other to create a first space forreceiving the container and presenting the container to the operator forpicking. The method may further include operating a lifting unit,communicably coupled to and positioned below the container presentingmechanism, to receive the container from the at least two laterallymovable arms, moving the at least two laterally movable arms outwardlyaway from each other to be positioned at a second predetermined distancefrom each other to create a second space, and operating the lifting unitto lower the container passing through the second space towards thedischarge conveyor.

According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, themethod may further include moving the at least two laterally movablearms inwardly towards each other from the second predetermined distanceto the first predetermined distance to receive a next container from theinfeed conveyor.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a system forpresenting a container of articles to an operator for picking isprovided. The system may include a goods to operator workstation forreceiving the container from an infeed conveyor and releasing pickedcontainer onto a discharge conveyor, and a control unit communicativelycoupled to the goods to operator workstation. The control unit mayinclude a processor configured with processor-executable instructions toperform operations comprising moving the container from the infeedconveyor to a container presenting mechanism of the goods to operatorworkstation, the container presenting mechanism may include at least twolaterally movable arms positioned at a first predetermined distance fromeach other to create a first space for receiving the container,operating a lifting unit, communicably coupled to and positioned belowthe container presenting mechanism, to receive the container from the atleast two laterally movable arms, moving the at least two laterallymovable arms outwardly away from each other to be positioned at a secondpredetermined distance from each other to create a second space, andoperating the lifting unit to lower the container passing through thesecond space towards the discharge conveyor.

The above summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing someexample embodiments to provide a basic understanding of some aspects ofthe disclosure. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that theabove-described embodiments are merely examples and should not beconstrued to narrow the scope or spirit of the disclosure in any way. Itwill be appreciated that the scope of the disclosure encompasses manypotential embodiments in addition to those here summarized, some ofwhich will be further described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The description of the illustrative embodiments can be read inconjunction with the accompanying figures. It will be appreciated thatfor simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in thefigures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, thedimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to otherelements. Embodiments incorporating teachings of the present disclosureare shown and described with respect to the figures presented herein, inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a goods to operator workstationin accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate perspective views of the goods to operatorworkstation in accordance with one or more embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a lifting unit and a containerpresenting mechanism of the goods to operator workstation in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the container presentingmechanism carrying a container in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate different side views of the container presentingmechanism in accordance with one or more embodiment of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method for operating a goods to operatorworkstation, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some embodiments of the present invention will now be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichsome, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, thedisclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicablelegal requirements. The terms “or” and “optionally” are used herein inboth the alternative and conjunctive sense, unless otherwise indicated.The terms “illustrative” and “exemplary” are used to be examples with noindication of quality level. Like numbers refer to like elementsthroughout.

The components illustrated in the figures represent components that mayor may not be present in various embodiments of the invention describedherein such that embodiments may include fewer or more components thanthose shown in the figures while not departing from the scope of theinvention.

Turning now to the drawings, the detailed description set forth below inconnection with the appended drawings is intended as a description ofvarious configurations and is not intended to represent the onlyconfigurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced.The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose ofproviding a thorough understanding of various concepts with likenumerals denote like components throughout the several views. However,it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts maybe practiced without these specific details.

As described above, in earlier systems order picking required an orderpicker to take an order list, walk through racks of products filled withcontainers of products to pick from, picking the listed products fromproduct containers, and placing the picked products into an ordercontainer for delivery to packaging. Automating the picking process canreduce time, manpower, and costs. An automated system can bring theproduct containers to the picker for picking, return the productcontainers to storage, and deliver the filled orders to packing andshipping.

The goods to operator workstation described herein, in accordance withone or more embodiments of the present disclosure, may be attachable orbe positioned next to an infeed and a discharge conveyor of a materialhandling system for automatically presenting infeed containers to anoperator for goods handling and for automatically taking away handledcontainer to the discharge conveyor. Thus, the goods and/or thecontainers are easily accessible to the operator at an order pickingposition without the need for the operator to walk through the aisles orto manually move containers on the conveyors.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a goods to operator workstation100, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The goods to operator workstation 100 may be attachable toor located adjacent to an infeed conveyor (not shown) and/or a takeawayor a discharge conveyor (not shown) of a material handling system, suchthat the goods to operator workstation 100 may receive one or more totesand/or containers directly from the infeed conveyor having a queue oftotes and/or container to be handled by an operator. Once a container isreceived by the goods to operator workstation 100, the container may bepresented to an operator for picking goods from the container and/orplacing items into the container. The container is then automaticallydischarged onto the takeaway conveyor by the goods to operatorworkstation 100.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, the goods tooperator workstation 100 presents a container 102 to an operator 104 forhandling, as shown in FIG. 1. The goods to operator workstation 100includes a frame 105 having an infeed conveyor portion 106 positionedadjacent or next to an infeed conveyor (not shown) of the materialhandling system. In other embodiments, the infeed conveyor portion 106may receive containers directly from a worker and/or a robotic tool,instead of an infeed conveyor. The infeed conveyor portion 106 mayinclude a belted conveyor section, a roller conveyor section, and/or acombination thereof. The infeed conveyor portion 106 may act as astaging conveyor that receives the container 102 from the infeedconveyor (not shown) and conveys the container 102 towards a containerpresenting mechanism 108 of the goods to operator workstation 100.

The container presenting mechanism 108 is positioned downstream of theinfeed conveyor portion 106. The container presenting mechanism 108presents the container 102 to the operator 104 in an order pickingposition, such that the operator 104 may easily access the container topick and/or place goods within the container 102. In accordance with theembodiments of the present disclosure, the container presentingmechanism 108 includes two laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b forconveying the container 102 from the infeed conveyor portion 106 to theoperator 104.

As shown in FIG. 1, the container presenting mechanism 108 includes twolaterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b spaced apart from each other andinclined at an angle relative to the infeed conveyor portion 106. Thetwo laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b are inclined to present thecontainer 102 at an optimal angle to the operator 104, so that theoperator 104 may easily look at and/or access the contents of thecontainer 102 in spite of the height of the goods to operatorworkstation 100.

The goods to operator workstation 100 further includes a lifting unit110 communicably coupled to and positioned below the containerpresenting mechanism 108. The lifting unit 110 may include one or morelift arms 118, 120 coupled to a vertically reciprocating lift mechanism116, and inclined at an angle corresponding to an angle of incline ofthe laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b. The vertically reciprocatinglift mechanism 116 moves the lift arms 118, 120 upwards and downwardsalong the frame 105 of the goods to operator workstation 100.

Once the container 102 is handled by the operator 104, the lifting unit110 receives the container 102 from the container presenting mechanism108. The lifting unit 110 discharges the container 102 onto a dischargeconveyor portion 112 located downstream of the container presentingmechanism 108. The discharge conveyor portion may include a beltedconveyor section, a roller conveyor section, and/or a combinationthereof. The discharge conveyor portion 112 may be a combination of afirst discharge conveyor portion 122 a and a second discharge conveyorportion 122 b, as shown in FIG. 1. The first discharge conveyor portion122 a may be located between or under the lift arms 118, 120, such thatthe first discharge conveyor portion 122 a receives the container 102from the lifting unit 110. The first discharge conveyor portion 122 amoves the container 102 to the second discharge conveyor portion 122 bfor discharging the container 102 to a take away and/or a dischargeconveyor (not shown) of the material handling system. In anotherembodiment, a worker and/or a robotic tool may pick the container 102from the second discharge conveyor portion 122 b, once the container 102is handled by the operator 104.

The goods to operator workstation 100 may further include a control unit107, as shown in FIG. 1. The control unit 107 may include suitable logicand/or circuitry that may be embodied as a means including one or moremicroprocessors with accompanying digital signal processor(s), one ormore processor(s) without an accompanying digital signal processor, oneor more coprocessors, one or more multi-core processors, one or morecontrollers, processing circuitry, one or more computers, various otherprocessing elements including integrated circuits such as, for example,an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or field programmablegate array (FPGA), or some combination thereof. The control unit 107 mayinclude a plurality of processors and signal processing modules. Theplurality of processors may be embodied on a single electronic device ormay be distributed across a plurality of electronic devices collectivelyconfigured to function as the circuitry of the control unit 107. Theplurality of processors may be in operative communication with eachother and may be collectively configured to perform one or morefunctionalities of the circuitry of the control unit 107, as describedherein. In an example embodiment, the control unit 107 may be configuredto execute instructions stored in a memory device or otherwiseaccessible to the control unit 107. These instructions, when executed bythe control unit 107, may cause the circuitry of the control unit 107 toperform one or more of the functionalities, as described herein.

In various embodiments, the control unit 107 may be configured tocontrol the movement of various subassemblies and components of thegoods to operator workstation 100, as will be described later.

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate perspective views of the goods to operatorworkstation 100 at different time intervals while conveying thecontainer 102, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 2A shows the container 102 placed at a handling or anorder picking position on the goods to operator workstation 100. Asdescribed above, the container presenting mechanism 108 receives thecontainer 102 from the infeed conveyor portion 106. Specifically, thelaterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b contact a bottom of the container102 and drive the container 102 forward along the laterally movable arms114 a and 114 b towards an end of the container presenting mechanism108.

Further, in accordance with one or more embodiment, for receiving thecontainer 102 from the infeed conveyor portion 106, the two laterallymovable arms 114 a and 114 b may be positioned at a first predetermineddistance d1 from each other, creating a first space 204 between the twolaterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b. The first predetermined distanced1 may be pre-programmed in a control unit associated with the goods tooperator workstation 100, and/or may be determined dynamically by thegoods to operator workstation 100 based on one or more parameters of thecontainer, such as, shape, size, type, contour, and the like. Forexample, the goods to operator workstation 100 may include and/or be incommunication with one or more sensors, dimensioning systems, visionsystems, and the like, for determining certain parameters, such as, butnot limited to, a length, width, height, weight, shape, contour, and/ortype of the container 102.

Based on the determined parameters, in some examples the goods tooperator workstation 100 may determine an optimal spacing requiredbetween the two laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b to be able toreceive and convey the container 102 from the infeed conveyor portion106 towards an operator. The optimal spacing between the two laterallymovable arms 114 a and 114 b may be calculated based on one or more of alength, center of gravity, shape, and the like, of the container 102.Thus, the goods to operator workstation 100 may determine the firstpredetermined distance d1 required between the two laterally movablearms 114 a and 114 b corresponding to the optimal spacing.

In an example embodiment, the first space 204 may be greater than orequal to a width of the lifting unit 110 to facilitate the lifting unit110 to pass through between the two laterally movable arms 114 a and 114b. The laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b may be moved laterallytowards and/or away from each other to place the two laterally movablearms 114 a and 114 b at the first predetermined distance d1 from eachother. In some embodiments, the totes and/or the container to be handledby the goods to operator workstation 100 may be fixed in size and/orshape, and therefore, the first predetermined distance d1 may bepre-programmed to the goods to operator workstation 100.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 bmay be inclined at an angle with respect to the infeed conveyor portion106. The angle of incline of the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 bmay be fixed and/or may be dynamically determined based on one or moreparameters of the container 102, such as, but not limited to, height,shape, contour, weight, type of items within the container, and thelike. As described above, the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b maybe inclined to present the container 102 at an angled position to theoperator, so that the operator may easily view and access the contentsof the container 102.

In an example embodiment, the angle of incline of the laterally movablearms 114 a and 114 b may depend on a height of the operator, and/or maybe set and/or modified by each operator of the goods to operatorworkstation 100 as per his/her preference. It should be noted that incertain embodiments, the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b may notbe inclined with respect to the infeed conveyor portion 106. Forexample, if a height of the goods to operator workstation 100 is lessthan a threshold, such that an operator may easily access the itemswithin the container 102 from above, the container presenting mechanism108 may present the container 102 to the operator as received from theinfeed conveyor portion 106, without inclining the container 102.

Once the container presenting mechanism 108 presents the container 102at an order picking and/or handling position to the operator, theoperator may pick and/or place goods within the container 102 based onan order and/or task list. Further, when the goods within the container102 are handled, the container 102 may be ready to be discharged onto atake away conveyor (not shown). In this regard, the operator mayinitiate the transfer of the container 102 from the container presentingmechanism 108 to a discharge conveyor. For example, the operator maypress a button (not shown) on the goods to operator workstation 100 forlowering the container 102 from the order picking and/or handlingposition. In another embodiment, a goods handling time may be fixed andthe container 102 may be automatically transferred from the containerpresenting mechanism 108 to a discharge conveyor after the expiration ofthe goods handling time. In another embodiment, the transfer of thecontainer 102 from the container presenting mechanism 108 may beinitiated in response to determining that the operator has picked and/orplaced goods in the container 102.

FIG. 2B shows the container 102 being transferred from the containerpresenting mechanism 108 onto the discharge conveyor portion 112 by thelifting unit 110, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure. As described above, once the container 102 and/orthe goods within the container 102 are handled by the operator, thelifting unit 110 having the lift arms 118 moves vertically upwardswithin the first space created between the two laterally movable arms114 a and 114 b, to elevate the container 102 from the two laterallymovable arms 114 a and 114 b, so that the laterally movable arms 114 aand 114 b are no longer in contact with the container 102. In response,the container presenting mechanism 108 moves the two laterally movablearms 114 a and 114 b outwardly away from each other to be positioned ata second predetermined distance d2 from each other, as shown in FIG. 2B.Thus, the two laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b create a secondspace 206 between the two laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b.Similar to the first predetermined distance d1, as described above, thesecond predetermine distance d2 may be fixed and/or dynamicallydetermined by the goods to operator workstation 100. In an embodiment,the second predetermine distance d2 and/or the second space 206 maycorrespond to a contour of the container 102. For example, if the lengthand/or the width of the container 102 is identified to be x units, thesecond predetermined distance d2 may be determined to be greater than xunits, so that the lifting unit 110 containing the container 102 maypass downwards through the second space 206 without hindrance from thetwo laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b.

Thus, once the two laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b move outwardlyaway from each other to be positioned at the second predetermineddistance d2 from each other creating the second space 206, the liftingunit 110 holding the container 102 lowers through the second space 206towards the first discharge conveyor portion 122 a, as shown in FIG. 2B.Thus, the second space 206 may be indicative of a gap required to lowerthe lifting unit 110 and the container 102 from an elevated positiontowards the discharge conveyor portion 112. Further, while the container102 is being transferred from the container presenting mechanism 108onto the discharge conveyor portion 112, a next container 202 may bereceived by the infeed conveyor portion 106, as shown.

FIG. 2C shows the container 102 being discharged off the goods tooperator workstation 100 while the next container 202 is being handledby the operator, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure. As described with reference to FIG. 2B, the liftingunit 110 lowers the container 102 from the container presentingmechanism 108 onto a first discharge conveyor portion 122 a.Specifically, the two lift arms 118, 120 are located on either side ofthe first discharge conveyor portion 122 a such that when the lift armscarrying the container 102 move vertically downwards, the container 102is placed on the first discharge conveyor portion 122 a by the liftingunit 110. The first discharge conveyor portion 122 a may have a beltedconveyor, such that the container 102 may be conveyed forward onto thesecond discharge conveyor portion 122 b, as shown in FIG. 2C. The seconddischarge conveyor portion 122 b may be positioned adjacent to atakeaway and/or a discharge conveyor of the material handling system.Thus, the container 102 may be conveyed off the goods to operatorworkstation 100 and onto a takeaway conveyor by the second dischargeconveyor portion 122 b. FIG. 2C further shows the goods to operatorworkstation 100 having the next container 202 in the order pickingand/or handling position on the container presenting mechanism 108. Inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, in response todetermining that the lifting unit 110 carrying the container 102 haspassed through the two laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b, thecontainer presenting mechanism moves the two laterally movable arms 114a and 114 b towards each other to reposition the two laterally movablearms 114 a and 114 b at a third predetermined distance from each other.Further, the third predetermined distance may be same as the firstpredetermined distance d1 and/or may be determined dynamically withrespect to each individual container. Thus, the container presentingmechanism 108 receives the next container 202 from the infeed conveyorportion 106, and positions the container 202 at an order picking and/orhandling position, as shown in FIG. 2C. Further, a third container 208may be received by the infeed conveyor portion 106 from an infeedconveyor (not shown).

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the lifting unit 110 and thecontainer presenting mechanism 108 of the goods to operator workstation100, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In an example embodiment, the container presenting mechanism108 includes laterally movable and spaced apart laterally movable arms114 a and 114 b. The laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b may includestrip belts or any other linear transfer mechanism for moving thecontainer towards the operator. In an embodiment, the containerpresenting mechanism 108 includes a strip belt drive 302 coupled to adrive shaft 304 attached to the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b.

In an example embodiment, the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b maybe pivotally coupled to the drive shaft 304 to adjust the angle ofincline of the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b. Further, eachstrip belt may be wrapped around laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b,as shown in FIG. 3. The strip belt drive 302 may include a motor forrotating the drive shaft 304, such that the rotation of the drive shaftdrives the strip belts of the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b.Further, the drive shaft 304 may rotate in a first direction to move thestrip belts towards the operator and rotate in an opposite direction tomove the strip belt away from the operator. Thus, the laterally movablearms 114 a and 114 b may convey the container towards and/or away fromthe operator, as needed.

The laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b may further be coupled to atranslational mechanism that enables the laterally movable arms 114 aand 114 b to move laterally towards and/or away from each other. In anembodiment, the translation means includes a lead screw drive 305. Thelead screw drive 305 may have a lead screw 307 disposed between the twolaterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b. The lead screw 307 may have aspiral thread throughout the length of the lead screw 307. The leadscrew 307 may be connected to a drive 309, such as a motor, at one endof the lead screw 307. The drive 309 may rotate the lead screw 307 whenactivated. The rotational motion of the lead screw 307 translates into alateral motion of the two laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b. Thatis, the drive 309 may rotate in a first direction to widen the spacebetween the two laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b and may rotate ina second direction to retract the two laterally movable arms 114 a and114 b towards each other. The drive 309 may be communicably coupled tothe control unit of the goods to operator workstation 100 forcontrolling the movement of the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b.Alternatively or additionally, any translational mechanism for movingthe laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b laterally towards and/or awayfrom each other, may be used.

Further, as described above, the lifting unit 110 includes thevertically reciprocating lift mechanism 116 coupled to a lift belt 306and lift arms 118, 120. The vertically reciprocating lift mechanism 116may be coupled to the frame of the goods to operator workstation 100through support rods 308, 310. In an embodiment, the lift belt 306 maybe controlled by a control unit of the goods to operator workstation 100to drive the vertically reciprocating lift mechanism 116 coupled to thelift arms 118, 120 vertically upwards and downwards along the supportrods 308, 310. Thus, the lift arms 118, 120 may be moved upwards toelevate a container from the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b, andmay be moved downwards to transfer the container onto the dischargeconveyor portion. It should be noted that the structure of the liftingunit 110 describe above is for exemplary purpose, and the presentdisclosure is not limited to the described structure. Alternatively oradditionally any vertically reciprocating means for moving the lift arms118, 120 vertically upwards and downwards relative to the frame, may beused.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the container presentingmechanism 108 carrying a container 102, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure. As described above, thetranslational mechanism of the container presenting mechanism 108 mayposition the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b at the firstpredetermined distance d1 from each other, as shown in FIG. 4. Thecontainer 102 is positioned at an order picking and/or handling positionon the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b. The container presentingmechanism 108 may further include one or more hard stops 402 located atdistal end 404 of the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b. Thecontainer 102 when moved towards the operator by the laterally movablearms 114 a and 114 b, may abut and/or rest against the hard stop 402,thus, preventing a further motion and/or a fall of the container 102from the goods to operator workstation 100. The laterally movable arms114 a and 114 b may further include side bars 406 for aligning thecontainer 102 onto the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b and toprevent a side fall of the container 102 off the laterally movable arms114 a and 114 b. As shown, the side bar 406 may be a bracket and/or abar located on outer walls and extending above the laterally movablearms 114 a and 114 b.

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate different side views of the container presentingmechanism 108, in accordance with one or more embodiment of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 5A shows a view of the container presenting mechanism108 holding the container 102 in accordance with a scenario 502. As canbe seen in FIG. 5A, the container 102 rests on the laterally movablearms and against the hard stop. The laterally movable arms arepositioned at the first predetermined distance from each other, creatingthe first space between the laterally movable arms. FIG. 5B shows a viewof the lifting unit 110 elevating the container 102 from the containerpresenting mechanism 108, in accordance with a scenario 504, after aperiod of time from scenario 502. For moving the container 102 from thecontainer presenting mechanism 108 to a discharge conveyor, the lift arm118 of the lifting unit 110 pass through the first space created betweenthe laterally movable arms, contact the container 102 from below, andelevate the container 102 from the laterally movable arms, as shown inFIG. 5B. Once the container 102 is lifted from the laterally movablearms, the container presenting mechanism 108 may move the laterallymovable arms outwardly away from each other to be positioned at thesecond predetermined distance from each other, creating the secondspace, such as second space 206 in FIG. 2, between the laterally movablearms. FIG. 5C shows a view of the container 102 moving downwards throughthe container presenting mechanism 108, in accordance with a scenario506, after a period of time from scenario 504. Once the laterallymovable arms are positioned at the second predetermined distance fromeach other, the lift arms carrying the container 102 are movedvertically downwards through the second space between the laterallymovable arms towards the discharge conveyor portion (not shown) of thegoods to operator workstation. Further, in response to determining thatthe container 102 has passed through the laterally movable arms, thelaterally movable arms may be moved towards each other to reposition thelaterally movable arms at the first predetermined distance from eachother (not shown).

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method 600 for operating the goods tooperator workstation 100, in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure. The method 600 may include receiving a container102 by the container presenting mechanism 108 comprising at least twolaterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b positioned at a firstpredetermined distance d1 from each other to create a first space forreceiving the container 102, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A-2C, at block602. The container presenting mechanism 108 may have two laterallymovable arms 114 a and 114 b positioned at the first predetermineddistance d1 from each other, creating the first space between thelaterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b. In an embodiment, a control unitand/or a processor associated with the goods to operator workstation 100control the lateral movement of the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114b by controlling a motor associated with the translational mechanism, asdescribed above. Further, the first predetermined distance d1 may bepre-programmed in the control unit associated with the goods to operatorworkstation 100, and/or may be determined dynamically by the goods tooperator workstation 100 and/or the control unit based on one or moreparameters of the container 102, such as, but not limited to, a length,width, contour, height, weight, shape, and/or type of the container 102.Based on the determined parameters, the goods to operator workstation100 may determine an optimal spacing required between the two laterallymovable arms 114 a and 114 b to be able to receive and convey thecontainer 102 from the infeed conveyor portion 106 towards an operator.The goods to operator workstation 100 and/or the control unit maydetermine the first predetermined distance d1 required between the twolaterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b based on the optimal spacing. Thelaterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b may be moved laterally towardsand/or away from each other to place the two laterally movable arms 114a and 114 b at the first predetermined distance d1 from each other.

The method may further include presenting, by the container presentingmechanism 108, the container 102 to the operator 104 for picking, atblock 604. The operator 104 may perform an operation, such as itempicking and/or placing, on the container 102 positioned on the containerpresenting mechanism 108.

The method 600 may further include operating a lifting unit 110,communicably coupled to and positioned below the container presentingmechanism 108, to receive the container 102 from the at least twolaterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b, as shown in FIG. 2A-2C, at block606. In an embodiment, the control unit 107 of the goods to operatorworkstation 100 may control the vertical reciprocating movement of thelifting unit 110. In this regard, upon detecting a condition forinitiating the transfer of the container 102 from the containerpresenting mechanism 108, such as, determining that the operator haspicked and/or placed goods within the container 102, the lifting unit110 may be controllably moved upwards to contact and elevate thecontainer 102 from the laterally movable arms 114 a and 114 b, asdescribed above.

The method 600 may further include moving the at least two laterallymovable arms 114 a and 114 b outwardly away from each other to bepositioned at a second predetermined distance d2 from each other tocreate a second space, as shown in FIG. 2A-2C, at block 608. In responseto determining that the container 102 has been lifted from the laterallymovable arms 114 a and 114 b by the lifting unit 110, the control unit107 and/or a processor associated with the goods to operator workstation100 may control the motor associated with the translational mechanism ofthe container presenting mechanism 108 for moving the laterally movablearms 114 a and 114 b outwardly away from each other to be positioned atdistance d2 from each other, creating the second space, as describedabove.

Further, the method 600 may include operating the lifting unit 110 tolower the container 102 passing through the second space towards thedischarge conveyor portion 112, at block 610. As described above, thecontrol unit 107 of the goods to operator workstation 100 may controlthe vertical reciprocating movement of the lifting unit 110 to move thelifting unit 110 carrying the container 102 downwards through the secondspace onto the discharge conveyor 112. Thus, automatically transferringthe container 102 from the infeed conveyor portion 106 to an orderpicking and/or handling position, and further to a discharge conveyorportion 112 once the container 102 is handled. Optionally, the method600 may further include repositioning the laterally movable arms 114 aand 114 b at a third predetermined distance from each other to recreatethe first space for receiving a next container onto the containerpresenting mechanism 108 from the infeed conveyor portion 106. Asdescribed above, the third predetermined distance may be same as thefirst predetermined distance d1 and/or may be determined dynamicallywith respect to each individual container.

It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referentsunless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

References within the specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “embodiments”, or “one or more embodiments” are intended toindicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure. The appearance of such phrases invarious places within the specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternativeembodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Further, variousfeatures are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments andnot by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which maybe requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.

It should be noted that, when employed in the present disclosure, theterms “comprises,” “comprising,” and other derivatives from the rootterm “comprise” are intended to be open-ended terms that specify thepresence of any stated features, elements, integers, steps, orcomponents, and are not intended to preclude the presence or addition ofone or more other features, elements, integers, steps, components, orgroups thereof.

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in variousforms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosedherein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis forthe claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in theart to variously employ the present invention in virtually anyappropriately detailed structure.

While it is apparent that the illustrative embodiments of the inventionherein disclosed fulfill the objectives stated above, it will beappreciated that numerous modifications and other embodiments may bedevised by one of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, it will beunderstood that the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications and embodiments, which come within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A goods workstation comprising: at least twolaterally movable arms positioned at a first predetermined distance fromeach other defining a first space to receive an item; and a liftingunit, communicably coupled to and positioned below the at least twolaterally movable arms, wherein the lifting unit is configured to movevertically upwards into the first space to receive the item from the atleast two laterally movable arms, wherein the at least two laterallymovable arms are actuated to move outwardly away from each other to bepositioned at a second predetermined distance from each other and definea second space for the lifting unit to pass the item verticallydownwardly between the at least two laterally movable arms.
 2. The goodsworkstation of claim 1, wherein each of the at least two laterallymovable arms comprise a strip belt that is configured to convey the itemin a first direction.
 3. The goods workstation of claim 2, wherein astrip belt drive is coupled to a drive shaft attached to the at leasttwo laterally movable arms, wherein the strip belt drive rotates thedrive shaft and drives the strip belt forward.
 4. The goods workstationof claim 1, further comprising: an infeed conveyor portion, positionedbetween an infeed conveyor and the at least two laterally movable arms,for receiving the item from the infeed conveyor; a discharge conveyorportion, positioned between the lifting unit and a discharge conveyor,for releasing the item onto the discharge conveyor.
 5. The goodsworkstation of claim 4, wherein the at least two laterally movable armsare inclined at an angle with respect to the infeed conveyor portion ofthe goods workstation.
 6. The goods workstation of claim 1, wherein atranslational mechanism is coupled to the at least two laterally movablearms for moving the at least two laterally movable arms towards and awayfrom each other.
 7. The goods workstation of claim 6, wherein thetranslational mechanism is a lead screw drive comprising: a lead screwdisposed between the at least two laterally movable arms; and a motorcoupled to the lead screw configured to: rotate the lead screw in afirst direction to move the at least two laterally movable arms awayfrom each other; and rotate the lead screw in a second direction to movethe at least two laterally movable arms towards each other.
 8. The goodsworkstation of claim 1, wherein the first predetermined distance and thesecond predetermined distance is dynamically determined based on acontour of the item supported on the at least two laterally movablearms.
 9. The goods workstation of claim 1, wherein the at least twolaterally movable arms are actuated to move inwardly towards each otherfrom the second predetermined distance to a third predetermined distanceto receive a next item from an infeed conveyor.
 10. The goodsworkstation of claim 4, wherein the infeed conveyor portion comprises abelted conveyor, a roller conveyor, or a combination thereof.
 11. Thegoods workstation of claim 4, wherein the discharge conveyor portioncomprises a belted conveyor, a roller conveyor, or a combinationthereof.
 12. The goods workstation of claim 1, wherein the first spacecreated by the positioning of the at least two laterally movable arms atthe first predetermined distance is greater than or equal to a width ofthe lifting unit to facilitate the lifting unit to lift the item fromthe at least two laterally movable arms to an elevated position.
 13. Thegoods workstation of claim 12, wherein the second space providesclearance to move the lifting unit and the item downwardly from theelevated position towards a discharge conveyor.
 14. The goodsworkstation of claim 1, wherein the lifting unit comprising: one or morelift arms configured to receive the item from the at least two laterallymovable arms; and a vertically reciprocating lift mechanism, coupled tothe one or more lift arms, configured to move the one or more lift armsvertically upwards and downwards.
 15. The goods workstation of claim 14,wherein the lifting unit comprises at least two lift arms disposed oneither side of a discharge conveyor portion of the goods workstation,wherein the at least two lift arms move downwards to transfer the itemto the discharge conveyor portion.
 16. The goods workstation of claim15, wherein the at least two lift arms are inclined at an angle withrespect to the discharge conveyor portion.
 17. The goods workstation ofclaim 1, further comprises of at least one hard stop to control anadvancement of the item on the at least two laterally movable arms,wherein the at least one hard stop is provided at one end of the atleast two laterally movable arms.
 18. A material handling systemcomprising: a goods workstation for receiving an item from an infeedconveyor and releasing the item onto a discharge conveyor; a controlunit communicatively coupled to the goods workstation; at least twolaterally movable arms for receiving an item, in response toinstructions from the control unit, wherein the at least two laterallymovable arms are positioned at a first predetermined distance from eachother and define a first space to receive the item; and a lifting unit,communicably coupled to and positioned below the at least two laterallymovable arms, wherein the lifting unit is configured to move verticallyupwards into the first space in response to instructions from thecontrol unit to receive the item from the at least two laterally movablearms, wherein the at least two laterally movable arms are actuated tomove outwardly away from each other in response to instructions from thecontrol unit to be positioned at a second predetermined distance fromeach other and define a second space for the lifting unit to pass theitem between the at least two laterally movable arms towards thedischarge conveyor.
 19. The material handling system of claim 18,wherein the at least two laterally movable arms move inwardly towardseach other from the second predetermined distance to the firstpredetermined distance to receive a next item from the infeed conveyor.20. The material handling system of claim 18, wherein each of the atleast two laterally movable arms comprise a strip belt that isconfigured to convey the item in a first direction.